Gill-Macswayne v Crampton & anor [2016] NSWLEC 1641

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Gill-Macswayne v Crampton & anor [2016] NSWLEC 1641 Hearing dates: 22 December 2016 Date of orders: 22 December 2016 Decision date: 22 December 2016 Jurisdiction: Class 2 Before: Galwey AC Decision: The application is dismissed. Catchwords: TREES (DISPUTES BETWEEN NEIGHBOURS); damage or injury not likely; application dismissed. Legislation Cited: Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 Cases Cited: Owners of SP 37485 v Owners of SP 4193 [2014] NSWLEC 1185 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Ruth Gill-Macswayne (Applicant) John Crampton (First Respondent) Edna Sorensen (Second Respondent) Representation: Ruth Gill-Macswayne, litigant in person (Applicant) John Crampton and Edna Sorensen, litigants in person (Respondents) File Number(s): 231260 of 2016

Judgment

This decision was given as an extemporaneous decision. It has been revised and edited prior to publication.

Background 1. Mrs Gill-Macswayne, the applicant in these proceedings, lives at her Cromer property, where she has a dwelling, pool and landscaped garden. Behind her property, fronting her side street, Mr Crampton and Ms Sorenson ('the respondents') have four mature paperbark trees in their front garden. 2. Mrs Gill-Macswayne is worried that these trees might fall onto her property. Throughout summer, she says, her children and their friends spend hours in and around the pool. The tree nearest the pool could strike this area if it fell. Apart from her fear that the trees may cause injury, she also worries that the trees will damage her property, on which she has spent a considerable sum of money. 3. Mrs Gill-Macswayne has applied to the Court pursuant to Part 2 of the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 ('the Trees Act') seeking orders for the respondents to remove the four trees.